This Computer Might One Day Beat You in a Debate
All of us who have spent any time on the internet have wasted our time debating unfeeling, non-human entities. They’re called trolls. IBM, however, has taken a more technological approach, and soon the heartless monster you find yourself arguing with might not be at the computer, but it will be the computer. This video, starting at the 47 minute mark, shows a demonstration of the Watson supercomputer’s ability to scan data and construct arguments, pro and con. When asked to debate the topic of “The Sale of Violent Video Games to Minors Should Be Banned,” Watson quickly scans Wikipedia, reads 10 articles about the topic, and use that data to come up with three supporting statement for each side. Watson’s answers are a little repetitive and maybe a little less than a top human debater would be proud of. On the pro side it harps on statements that games cause aggression way too much. On the con side it simply says the opposite of that statement, that there is no